12:06 AM CST on Saturday, December 24, 2005

Look who's getting healthy.

The New England Patriots were barely competitive in midseason games against the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts, two of the NFL's best teams this season.

The Patriots fell behind the Broncos, 28-3, in the third quarter at Denver on Oct. 16 and fell behind the Colts, 28-7, in the third quarter at New England two weeks later. The two losses dropped the Patriots to 4-4 and seemed to soften their charge at a third consecutive Super Bowl.

But Richard Seymour, New England's best defensive player, didn't play in either of those games. Corey Dillon and Kevin Faulk, the team's two top running backs, didn't play against the Broncos. Neither did Pro Bowl inside linebacker Tedy Bruschi nor wide receiver Troy Brown.

Faulk and Patrick Pass, New England's starting fullback, also missed the Indianapolis game.

Now Seymour is back. So is Dillon. And Bruschi, Brown, Faulk and Pass. The Patriots are starting to resemble the team that steamrolled the NFL over the previous two seasons, winning 34 of 38 games en route to back-to-back Super Bowl championships.

The Patriots have won three games in a row and five of their last six to build a 9-5 record and clinch a third consecutive AFC East crown. With a Monday night game at the Jets and a home finale against Miami, the Patriots should head into the postseason at 11-5.

"What we were doing in the first half of the season was kind of uncharacteristic of us," Patriots linebacker Willie McGinest said. "You've got to credit the coaching staff and the guys for getting back on track for what we've been doing in the past.

"I think preparation has been a lot better for what we're trying to do – get back on the same page and get back to the way we play football."

New England will draw a first-round home game in the playoffs, then would probably need to win back-to-back road games at Indianapolis, Cincinnati or Denver to capture a third consecutive AFC crown.

That's the long road to travel to Ford Field for the Feb. 5 Super Bowl, but it's a familiar one for the Patriots.

In 2001, when they won their first Super Bowl, the Patriots also finished 11-5. They drew a first-round bye, then beat Oakland at home in the AFC semifinals, thanks to the infamous tuck rule. The Pats then traveled to Pittsburgh and toppled the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game.

Playing on the road doesn't make the Patriots flinch. Not when you have the best quarterback, coach and kicker in the game, which the Patriots have with Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Adam Vinatieri.

New England is getting its swagger back, and that could be bad news for the rest of the AFC. At this time of year, that 11-5 regular-season record isn't as important as the 8-0 mark the Patriots have in January this decade.

E-mail rgosselin@dallasnews.com